


early birthday present

by acethedisgrace



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Birthday, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Reki's mom ships them, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29301729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acethedisgrace/pseuds/acethedisgrace
Summary: Langa's mother can't spend his birthday with him due to work. Instead of spending his birthday alone, Langa is invited to join Reki's family vacation.There's flirting, there's stupidity, and there's a whole lot of mutual pining.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 41
Kudos: 464





	1. Chapter 1

"I'm so sorry baby." Langa's mother apologized, "I can reschedule if you want me to. It's fine I want to-" 

"It's okay Mom." Langa said, giving his mother a warm smile, "I'll just see if Reki wants to hang out on my birthday. So don't work about me being lonely." 

Langa and his mother were very close, and she could always tell exactly what her son was thinking. So when she saw that Langa had the slightest sign of being upset, it saddened her. But this was an important trip she had to go on. If it went well, she could get a huge raise and move up the company ladder, which she needed given she only started working there afew months ago when they moved to Okinawa. 

She sighed, "I'm gonna call Reki's mom and work something out with her. Is that okay? I know it was your suggestion, but do you want to hang out with Reki and his family for your birthday?" 

Langa smiled at the mere mention of Reki's name from someone else's lips, "Yeah." He said, smiling with a fondness he only had when the subject of discussion was Reki, "I lo- ah- enjoy hanging out with Reki." He stopped himself from using the all too exclusive 'L word' thinking it would be a dead give away for his crush on Reki. 

His mom already knew. There was no hiding it when all Langa wanted to talk about was his friend, and all he wanted to do was hang out with him. 

Langa's mother smiled and placed a hand on her son's shoulder, "Then we'll figure out something fun for you to, okay?" 

Langa nodded, pulling his mom into a hug that, to his mother's discontent, didn't last long as, although he loved his mother dearly, any teenager wouldn't want to show too much affection for their mother. Something about pride or independence or something along those angsty lines. 

"Go change into some comfy clothes and we can watch a movie before bed." She said, patting Langa on the shoulder. 

"Okay." 

Once Langa left the room, Mrs. Hasegawa whipped out her phone and dialed Reki's Mom's number. They had become pretty good friends since their boys had done the same. She was a wonderful lady, but Mrs. Hasegawa had to admit, it was a little hard to keep up with her energy. 

After three rings, the call was picked up, "Hi there! How's it going?" Reki's mom answered with her usual enthusiam. 

"Hi." Mrs. Hasegawa greeted, trying but overall failing to match the other woman's enthusiasm, "How's your family?" 

"Oh they're great. I actually just got the girls to bed. I'd say the same for my boy but he wants to be all angsty and not let me tuck him into bed anymore." 

Mrs. Hasegawa smiled at that, remembering when Langa was around 10 years old and he made the same decision. Even then, she should sneek into his room after he fell asleep and kiss his forehead. It was her motherly right afterall, "Speaking of Reki, Langa's birthday is coming up and I can't spend it with him because of work. Would Reki mind hanging out with him this weekend? His birthday is on Monday." 

"Oh well actually, we were all going to an amusement park this weekend. Do you think Langa would want to tag along? There's plenty of room in the car, and I have an extra ticket because my daughter wanted to invite one of her friends but she flaked, so as long as he brings money for games and snacks he's all good." 

That was an interesting offer, and it sounded like alot of fun. But would Langa be up for it? She'd have to see. 

Speaking of Langa, he had just returned from changing into his pajamas and taking a shower, "Who are you calling?" He asked, lowering his voice to be polite. 

Covering the speaker, Mrs. Hasegawa answered, "Reki's Mom. Actually, come talk to her for a second. She wants to know if you'd like to join her and Reki on a trip to an amusement park this weekend." 

"Oh?" Langa took the phone, "Hello?" 

"Hi Langa how are you sweetheart?" 

"I'm okay, thank you ma'am." 

"Did your mom tell you about the amusement park?" 

"Yeah." 

"Do you want to join us?" 

"If it's no trouble, then yeah, it sounds like fun." 

He could practically hear her smile over the phone, "It's perfectly fine, don't worry, hun. You'll make the trip all the more fun for my boy." 

Langa smiled at that, he liked the idea of making Reki happy, "Well then, if you insist, I'd love to go." 

"Great! Come home with Reki on Friday after school, oh, if you don't want to bring your luggage to school then just stop by your house first, we don't plan on leaving until around 5 anyways so you'll have plenty of time." 

She proceeded to explain all the details, over explaining in some parts but knowing her for the short time Langa had, he was pretty used to it. 

When she finally finished, she requested for the phone to be given back to Langa's mom. He complied and patiently waited for the conversation to come to a close so that he and his mother could watch a movie. 

~ 

Friday came quickly and Reki could hardly contain his excitement. He was going to an amusement park with Langa! And for his birthday no less, so the taller boy couldn't protest when Reki would inevitably spoil him and not let him spend a single yen of his own money, offering the excuse that, given it was such a special day, he deserved to be treated. It was just the kind of guy he was, he loved spoiling his friends, and Langa was his closest friend, so of course that ment he wanted to spoil him the most. 

He met up with Langa outside of the school on his way inside, and he happily, and without hesitation, glomped on the taller boy, almost knocking him over. He expected Langa to push him off in annoyance and tell him not to do that again, but to Reki's surprise, he simply secured the boy into a piggy back ride position, "Haha now you're trapped." He joked. 

It was a simple action, but it made Reki's heart flutter, his stomach filling with the most ferocious of butterflies. Maybe 'heart squeeze' scenes in maga weren't over dramatic, because that's exactly how that made him feel. After a second of recovering from the moe gap, Reki slid off of Langa and turned the taller boy around, giving him an actual hug this time, to which Langa happily accepted, "Happy early birthday, Langa." Reki said, looking up at Langa, who stared at him fondly. In that moment, Reki had to fight off the intense urge to kiss Langa, and of course, Langa was fighting the same urge just as hard. 

"Gay!" One of their schoolmates called. You'd think that would make them break apart and awkwardly rekindle their composure, but neither of them really cared what some moron thought. It wasn't gay to hug your best friend...even if they both kind of wanted it to be. Reki simply turned to his peer and promptly flipped him off, punctuating the action by blowing a raspberry. 

Langa smiled at this. It probably shouldn't have been encouraged, but if it was Reki, he didn't care. 

When their hug had grown past a friendly length, Reki broke away and playfully punched Langa's shoulder, "Old ass." He joked. 

Langa just playfully pushed Reki's forehead back and continued to walk inside, "Come on, were gonna be late to class." 

Reki rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah I'm coming." 

~ 

During class, they had a bit of free time as the teacher had accidentally given them a test early that was slated for today. Langa took it as an early birthday present from the universe as he would get to talk to Reki all of first hour without worry of getting in trouble which happened regularly, Langa was almost worried the school would call his mom at this point. 

Zoning out thinking about, you can probably guess, Reki, Langa was startled when he heard the grating sound of Reki scooting his desk the few inches to close the gap between his and Langa's, "I- Reki what are you-" 

"It's cool, man. Other people are doing it." Reki said, emphasising his point by waving his hand about the sea of students scooting their desks closer to their friends, making far less noise than Reki did Langa noticed. 

"Check this out." Reki said, propping his phone on a book he placed in the middle of his and Langa's desks, "This guy is a rising star in the skating world. He's a younger guy but I think he's got alot of potential." Reki explained with his usual level of enthusiam he had when talking about skateboarding. He untangled his earbuds and handed one to Langa, who promptly popped it into his ear and leaned in closer to Reki as to not risk stretching the cord and breaking the fragile wires inside. 

As they watched, Langa subconsciously started leaning in closer, closer, and closer until his head was rested upon Reki's shoulder, a development Reki noticed but didn't pay much attention to as he was too busy staring at his phone with a look of amazement in his eyes. It made Langa happy to see, and he found himself paying more attention to his friend's face than the screen. 

When the video was over, Reki took back his earbud and put his phone on the desk, turning to Langa, "That was sick, right?" 

Langa nodded, "He's definitely very talented." 

Reki nodded enthusiastically in agreement, "I hope I can be like him someday." 

To anyone else, that statement would have been with an undertone of self depreciation, but with Reki, it was with determination. It made Langa happy. No matter how many times Reki fell, he would always get up and march on. It inspired Langa to do the same. 

"So." Reki said, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them, "What do you want to talk about?" 

Langa leaned back in his seat, "Hm..I don't know. Anything I guess." 

"Hm. Well I haven't asked in a while so, how have you been doing?" Reki asked, pulling out his miniature skateboard and sliding it along his knees. He was still paying attention, though, his eyes on Langa waiting for an answer. 

"I've been alright." Langa said, "That bruise on my elbow from the other day is finally gone." 

"Ah yes, good old 231." 

Langa cracked up at that. He and Reki had a running joke of assigning random high numbers to scrapes and bruises, as if to say they were keeping count and that the count had grown so disproportionately. Though, with how much concrete eating Langa did in his first weeks learning to skateboard, a high number wouldn't exactly be too unrealistic. 

"Yeah? What's 230?" Langa asked knowingly. 

Reki smiled and pressed his pointer finger against Langa's chest, "When your skateboard flew up and smacked ya right in the sternum." 

Langa flinched. Not because it still hurt, but because Reki was touching his chest. He was surprised the redhead couldn't just about feel his heart pounding. 

"And 229 is when you ate shit and marked up your chin." Reki placed his thumb on Langa's chin, "228 was when you," Reki took Langa's hand and rubbed his thumb across his knuckles, "Ran over your hand. I still don't know how you managed that one." Reki laughed, fondly remembering how ridiculous that sequence of events had been. 

That's when it became a little too much for Langa. Reki was pretty much holding his hand and he was laughing, oh he was laughing so beautifully. Langa was in so much trouble when that boy started laughing. It took all his strength to keep himself from going red in the face. 

Reki finally let go of his hand and reached forward to point out number 227, "And this-" 

Langa caught his hand, "I get it I get it." He said, knowing his heart would just about explode if Reki continued. 

Reki retracted his hand and returned to his mini skateboard, "I'm glad you don't fall as much as you used too. But, I have to admit, when you drew blood for the first time, that was great. Your face was priceless." 

Now Langa's blush was and embarrassed one, "listen, no one likes bleeding." 

"Langa, you just about fainted over a tiny cut on your hand." 

"Shut it, Reki." 

"Never~" Reki teased. 

God. How did Langa handle his feelings when Reki was just so...he was just so _Reki_. And Langa absolutely adored that. 

~ 

When school had finally ended, both boys made their way to Langa's house. It wasn't too far from the school and Langa needed to grab the bag he packed. He had to admit, he was a little nervous to stay at a hotel with Reki given Reki's mother _very subtly_ threw in the little factoid that he and Reki would be sharing the room across the hall from the one she and her daughter's would be staying in. 

He decided not to freak out about it. It really wasn't any different than staying the night at Reki's house. 

"Do you want to go on water rides first or the rollercoasters?" 

"Well the water park closed earlier than the rest of the park, right?" Langa knew the answer, he had done research on the place the day before. 

"I think so. I've actually never been." 

"Oh well I think that's what it said on the website. Oh, they've got a half pipe there, I remembered seeing that as well." 

"Really?" Reki's eyes lit up. 

Langa nodded, "They've got a little park--I think it's mostly to serve the function of people drying off in the sun before they go on non water rides. But yeah, it's got a little skating and biking area." 

"Wow you certainly did your research." 

"Yeah, I like to research places before I go to them. I don't really know why I guess I just like knowing what there is to do." 

Reki laughed, "That's like- the total opposite of me. I like to go into things head first." 

Langa grinned, "I've noticed." 

They continued to make small talk until they reached Langa's apartment complex, "Wanna come in or would you rather wait outside?" 

"I'll wait outside. Oh- don't forget your skateboard, okay? If they've got a half pipe we might as well use it." 

"Knowing you," Langa said, "You'd probably just want to skate and not go on any of the rides." 

"Oh please." Reki crossed his arms, pouting, "I'm not that obsessed with skating." 

Langa raised an eyebrow. 

"Okay so maybe I am. But I promise, we'll only use the half pipe for...two hours." 

"One." 

"One and a half." 

"Fine." 

Reki threw in fist in the air and yelled, "Hell yeah!" Triumphantly. 

Langa just smiled and rolled his eyes, "I'll be quick." He said, turning to go inside and grab his things. 

"You'd better be." 

~ 

There was one thing Langa wasn't particularly excited about that this trip had to offer, and that was the car ride. 

Of course, he was happy he and Reki could have the entire back if the mini van to themselves, but that bit of extra space away from Reki's sisters couldn't prevent him from hearing the earbleeding chattering of three little girls. 

He crawled into the back of the car, trying to manuver himself to the best of his ability in the confined space until he reached his seat and sat down, buckling up and preparing himself for the two hour drive, which would more realistically be about two and a half with gas stops and fast food taken into account. 

Reki joined him, expertly making his way past the middle seats and getting to the back. He clearly had experience in the ways of the mini van. 

Reki took his seat next to Langa and buckled up, "Here." He said, handing Langa one of his earbuds. 

Langa gave him a curious look as he put it in his ear, "It helps block out some of the noise." Reki explained. 

Langa was glad to hear that. 

"Wanna make a playlist?" Reki asked. With how excited he seemed, Langa couldn't say no. 

"Sure." He said, leaning in closer to see Reki's phone screen better. 

Once they finished[ their playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Y5T80qHDfw4zf7H7MkM1x?si=BK31G83gThi0iEtX5VANig&utm_source=copy-link), Reki pressed play and rested his head on Langa's shoulder. Langa, understandably about to have a heart attack tried to keep cool. He closed his eyes and placed his head atop Reki's. 

Just two homies. Sharing earbuds. Listening to a playlist they made together. Leaning on each other. In the back of a mini van. Going on vacation. 

For sure. No reason to freak out. 

Reki's mother started the car and adjusted the mirror, seeing her son and his friend in the back. She smiled. Reki looked so happy, and that's all she cared about. Not to mention, the person that made her son so happy was a good guy. As a mother, it was a dream. 

"Seatbelts, girls?" She asked, turning back to see if her daughters were safely buckled up. 

"Yeah! Let's go Mama I wanna go in the wave pool!" Nanaka said, bouncing in her seat excitedly. 

Reki's mom smiled, "Oh yeah? Is that what you wanna do first?" 

Nanaka nodded, "Yeah!" 

"Well then, let's go!" Reki's mother started the car and pulled out of the driveway. 

~ 

When the arrived, Langa couldn't get out of the car soon enough. His legs were cramped as he quickly decided that the back of a mini van simply was not made for people with long legs. 

Reki climbed out first and helped Langa, who's legs felt like jelly, step out, "First time in a mini van, huh? Well atleast my sister's were fairly quiet along the way." 

Langa just nodded, stretching out his legs, "I don't know how you do it." 

"I'm used to it." Reki explained, "17 years of mini van and you grow pretty accoustom to it." 

"I suppose." 

"It's a shame you hardly ride in the car with my anymore though, hun." Reki's mother said, pulling her son into a crushing, motherly hug, "You used to beg to go grocery shopping with me when you were finally big enough to sit in the front seat." 

"Mooom." Reki complained, trying to pry his mother off of him because, hello, Langa was right there. 

But Langa didn't look bothered. In fact, he was laughing. Seeing Reki try to be all angsty around his mom was adorable. 

"Don't laugh you jerk!" Reki whined, "You're supposed to be on my side!" 

"Pfft. I never said that." Langa said, crossing his arms. 

"Attaboy." Reki's mom said, finally letting Reki go and moving onto Langa, who she patted on the head, "This ones a keeper." 

Reki rolled his eyes. 

After that debacle, they made their way into the hotel they'd be staying at. It was on the site of the park so they figured they would drop their stuff off, change into their swimsuits for the water park, and then come back later to change into their causal clothes for the rest of the park. 

Reki's mother handed Langa the key, to Reki's chagrin, and showed them to their room. 

"Me and the girls'll be right next door if you need anything." She said, "Boy you better stop pouting." She said, turning to Reki, "I gave the key to Langa because you'd lose it." 

Reki blushed in embarrassment, "I would not!" 

Reki's mother just rolled her eyes and waved goodbye, "See you both later for dinner." 

Langa waved goodbye, Reki doing the same half heartedly. 

Langa closed the door and turned to Reki, handing him the key, "There. You can have it for he rest of our time here." 

Reki gasped, completely touched, "You're a saint." 

Langa just smiled and headed over to one of the two queen sized beds in the room, setting his bag down and pulling his swim trunks and a swim shirt out. 

Reki felt a fleeting feeling of dissapointment seeing the shirt. He would only admit it to himself because he would look like an absolute degenerate if he said it to anyone else, but he kind of hoped to see Langa shirtless. Yeah yeah sue him like you haven't thought the same thing yourself. 

He ignored it and set his own bag down, pulling out his trunks and a floral button up he would wear unbuttoned just to take off and probably lose. 

"Umm." Reki wasn't really sure how to ask this, "Do you uh want to go into the bathroom and change first or like..I don't know." 

"You can take the bathroom. I'll just change out here. Oh, but like.." He thought for a second, "I'll knock on the door when I'm done and you can come out. That way we won't have to wait and we can go down together." 

_That's...needlessly complicated but alright._

"Alright." Reki grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change. 

Langa waited until he heard the door click to change himself, doing it with a quickness. 

He waited a bit before knocking on the door, "I'm done." 

"That didn't take long." Reki thought out loud, pulling his socks off that he would have totally left on if he hadn't checked to see if he was ready. 

He stepped out of the bathroom and almost made the human equivalent of keyboard smashing noises when he saw Langa standing there without his swim shirt on. 

"I- I thought you were ready?" 

"I am." Langa said, confused. He followed Reki's eyes and saw that he was referring to his abandoned swim shirt, "Oh. I was going to wear that but I just decided not to." 

_Oh_ , Reki thought, _So there is a God_? 

Mentally slapping himself for being so inappropriate, Reki sucked in a breath and threw his clothes into his bag, "Ready to go down then?" 

"Yeah." Langa said. He closed his bag and walked over to Reki, "Oh, hey." He said, catching Reki's attention. 

"Hm?" Reki looked up to Langa pulling his headband off of his head. 

"You don't want to get this wet." He said, handing it to the flustered red head. Something about that moment was ridiculously intimate to him and his heart refused to calm down. 

"I..yeah I mean yeah it would suck haha yeah I'll just put it in my..bag." Reki whizzed past Langa and placed his headband on the bed, "Thanks, I wasn't even thinking about it." 

"Yeah. No problem." Langa suddenly found himself embarrassed by his own actions. Why didn't he just tell Reki he still had it on? 

~ 

The two boys made this way to the indoor water park. The outdoor one wasn't open because, while it wasn't exactly cold, it wasn't really warm enough for an outdoor water park to operate. 

Reki and Langa met up with Reki's mom outside the gate, where she handed them their wrist bands, "You two have fun. I'll order a pizza at 9 so be back in your room by 9:15, K?" 

Both nodded and slipped their wrist bands on as they walked off to find the first waterslide to tackle. They both had an unspoken agreement to go on all of them. 

They ended up going on one of the medium sized ones first. It was a two-person inner tube ride and needless to say they both were excited to see how each other would react to being thrown down a plastic tube at a break neck velocity while having gallons of water thrown in their face. It wasn't about who would have more fun, but who wouldn't. 

They marched up the steps leading to the start of the ride, the inner tube tucked under Langa's arm. Reki wanted to carry it but Langa grabbed it first. 

As they walked up, they made small talk. Reki had a little game where he would guess what people were thinking while they we're standing in line and would whisper his guesses to Langa, who's guesses weren't nearly as imaginative. 

"He's probably thinking about what he'll order for dinner." Langa said dryly. 

"Come on Langa, use your imagination!" 

"Okay." 

Reki's eyes lit up in anticipation. 

"He'll order chicken wings." 

Reki groaned. 

~ 

When they had finally ridden all the rides--save for the ones reserved for little kids, there was one water activity left. A surfboarding simulator. 

They were saving it for last because they were both fully confident in that they would absolutely rock at it. 

As they ran to get in line, Reki swore he heard someone yell, "Wrong anime!" He thought it was weird but he shook it off, focusing on not running into a little girl who he was about a foot away from accidentally kicking as he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. 

They waited in line for your standard amount of time waiting for an amusement park attraction until it was finally Langa's turn. 

"Good luck, champ." Reki joked, patting Langa on the back. 

Langa rolled his eyes playfully and turned to the lifeguard, who explained what to do to him. He listened carefully, not wanting to mess up and look like an idiot infront of Reki. 

He shouldn't have worried though, Reki had full confidence in him. 

He held the board under his feet until the buzzer went off telling him to go. 

He quickly got on his stomach and let himself slide down the ramp that shot water up at him. He was going to think about how inaccurate this probably was to what surfing was probably really like, but before he could, a wave slapped him in the face with the might of zuess and he was shot back to the top of the ramp. 

"Are you alright?" The lifeguard asked. Langa nodded and waited until he got the thumbs up to try again. This time, he managed to control the board enough to sit on his knees, which we found wasn't too bad. But the hard part was coming: 

Actually _standing_ on the damn thing. 

He struggled to get to his feet, the board moving every which way under the waves. But he was determined. He grabbed the sides of the board and got to his feet in a downward dog like position. The _really_ hard part would be standing up straight. 

He slowly let go of the board and made an attempt to straighten his back out. When he finally did, he shot his head back to see if Reki was watching, and he smiled widely when he saw that the red head had indeed had his eyes on him the entire time. 

He was proud of himself. 

...until a wave knocked him on his ass while he wasn't paying attention. Groaning, he slid back to the top of the ramp, the foam surfboard shooting up and smacking him in the face as an additional insult to injury. He was completely and throughly embarrassed. Not only was Reki watching, but a small crowd of people had come by to drink their martinis and watch cocky teenagers like himself get knocked down a peg. 

Reki couldn't help but burst into laughter as he walked over to Langa and helped him to his feet, "Are you okay?" He asked though laughs, "You fell really hard." 

"Don't pretend to be concerned." Langa pouted, crossing his arms and looking away. Really, he only looked away because he was heavily embarrassed and didn't want to make eye contact with anyone. 

Reki finally got himself to stop laughing, "I'm sorry no I really mean it." 

"I'm fine." Langa said, "Only my..pride is hurt." He whispered that last part. 

That's when the laughter started back up. 

"Are you gonna go?" The lifeguard asked. 

Reki shook his head, " _Hell no_. Not after crusher over here's attempt." 

Langa would have been super offended if that wasn't so funny. 

"Aw that's a shame. You would have done great." The lifeguard said, his tone notably flirty. 

_Oh hell no. I'm not gonna get embarrassed and then have my crush flirted with right infront of me._ Langa thought. 

He took Reki's hand, "Come on man, it's already nine." He said, pretending to just notice the clock he had had his eyes on for a while. 

"Oh, is it?" Reki asked, his attention completely taken away from surfing. 

Langa pointed to the clock, "Yeah, we better get going before your Mom worries about us." 

"Right." Reki turned back to the lifeguard, "Sorry. Maybe tommorow." 

The lifeguard looked annoyed, but he just smiled it off. He didn't have work tommorow. 

Still holding Reki's hand, Langa made his way down the steps of the ramp and Reki, not knowing why his hand was being held but not being apposed to it, followed along. 

Langa didn't let go of Reki's hand until they got in the elevator, the only reason being the doors showed in their reflection that Langa hadn't let go when he intended to. 

"Oh." He let go, "I'm sorry I didn't-" 

"It's alright." Reki gave him a genuine smile, "Friends hold hands all the time, right?" 

Langa's heart hurt hearing that. He knew they were nothing but friends, and he was completely okay with it. But there was something about Reki reinforcing the fact that made it painfully apparent to Langa that he wanted to be so much more than friends. 

~ 

Reki and Langa changed into their causal clothes and waited outside Reki's Mom's room. Reki knocked, knowing his little sisters were inside and that his mom was in the lobby getting the pizza. 

His sister answered, "What's the secret password?" She asked. 

Reki smiled. His little sisters were annoying, but he loved them and, _occasionally_ , he found them endearing. 

"Mommy has an extra toe." He whispered in his sister's ear. It was something of an inside joke they came up with, there was no reason for it, it's just a rumour that Reki told his little sisters when they were younger to scare them into thinking their mom was a witch. 

His sister closed the door, made imitations of the noises of unlocking multiple locks with her mouth and then finally opened the door up, "You may proceed." 

Reki laughed at her silliness and ruffled her hair as he walked in, Langa following close by. 

They made their way to a table in the middle of the room and sat down next each other. The room was, somehow, even though they'd only spent a collective half an hour in the hotel, a mess. There were obnoxiously colored little girl clothes strewn all over the floor, and candy wrappers were scattered all over the beds and table. Reki was used to his sister's messiness. Langa, however, was not. He had always lived in a very clean, clutter free environment. 

The girls sat around and minded their own business as Langa and Reki watched a random video on Reki's phone. The pizza was taking longer than they thought. 

Langa, zoning out, was brought back into reality by a little hand tapping his arm, "Mr." Nanaka said. 

Langa looked down at her, "Um..hi there." He said, trying to sound polite. He had absolutely no knowledge on how to talk to kids. 

"I made you a bracelet because your my bubby's friend." She said, holding up a multi-color string bracelet with beads that spelled out: 

**Ranga**

Langa couldn't help but smile, "Is that supposed to be my name?" 

Nanaka nodded, "Did I spell it right?" 

Langa shook his head, "No." He reached out his wrist, "But I like it anyways." 

Nanaka giggled and tied the bracelet around the boys wrist, "There!" Without another word she ran off. 

Reki took notice of the bracelet, "Aw that's one of the best ones she's made." He turned to look at his sister, who was making more bracelets, "Hey! Why don't you make your big bro one of those?" 

Nanaka just stuck out her tongue, "Cus you suck!" She joked. 

Reki pretended to be hurt, dramatically slapping his hand over his chest, "I am so hurt." 

Langa couldn't help but laugh. He was still a little intimidated by being around a bunch of kids because, once again, he had zero idea how to interact with them, but he always thought Reki's interactions with his sister's were cute. For the hundredth time that day, he thought about how great Reki was. 

"If you want one, come make it yourself." Nanaka said. 

"Maybe I will!" Reki said, hopping up and running over to his sister's, "Langa!" He shouted, "Come make one too! Let's show them who can make the better bracelets." 

Langa rolled his eyes and joined them on the floor, picking up a red, blue, black, and yellow string and begining to fashion together a bracelet for Reki. 

Reki leaned on Langa as they made their bracelets, he himself stringing together a mix of different blues, black and white. They shared one braincell and that one braincell told them to make bracelets for each other. 

"There." Reki said, "Done." He held up his bracelet proudly. Afew strings were loser than others, but it still looked pretty good. 

Around the same time Langa finished his, "Here." He said, "I tried my best." He handed the bracelet to Reki, who smiled widely, "This is awesome!" He held out his wrist, to which Langa promptly tied the bracelet around it. Reki twisted his wrist around to study the object. It wasn't perfect, but he absolutely adored it, "I love it. Thanks man." He said, looking up at Langa, who smiled back at him. 

"I'm glad." 

"I made you one too." Reki said, motioning for Langa to reach his wrist out, "Oh.." As he put the bracelet up to Langa's wrist, he noticed that, even if it were tied, it was pretty big, "Ah damnit I made it too big." 

"That's fine." Langa said, untucking his legs, "Just put it around my ankle." He stuck his foot out and allowed Reki to tie the bracelet, now anklet, around his ankle. 

Langa smiled. He liked the anklet alot. And not _only_ because it was made by Reki...it was just _mostly_ because it was made Reki, "Thanks, Reki. I'll never take it off." 

Reki laughed, "Then I'll never take mine off either." 

Both boys stared at each other fondly, the moment leaving them with comfortable silence that drowned out the chaotic sounds of Reki's sisters. Before they could bring their faces any closer to each other, they heard a knock at the door. 

"Ah, that must be mom." Reki said, blushing as he tried to recoup his composure. 

_Were we about to..?_

"I'll get it." Langa said, standing up and opening the door for Reki's mom. 

"Oh, hi Langa. I hope you and Reki weren't too bothered by my girls." Reki's mother said, stepping into the room. 

Langa shook his head, taking the pizzas for Reki's mom and setting them down on the table, "They were just fine." 

"Oh, thanks hun. And I'm happy to hear that." She smiled and sat down on one of the beds, "You and Reki can go ahead and take the one on the bottom back to your room." 

Reki stood up, "Thanks Mama. We'll head back now." 

"Not before giving me a hug you won't." 

"Maaa." 

"I kid. You two have fun. Oh, there's a vending machine down the hall of you guys want to go get something to drink." 

With this information, the two boys made their way out of the room and back to their own. Langa carried their pizza and waited patiently for Reki to unlock the door, "Ha." Reki said, unlocking the door, "I didn't lose they key." 

~ 

The two boys sat on one of the beds and watched some random movie on tv. They weren't really paying much attention to it though as they were far more interested in talking amongst themselves. 

"Really?" Langa asked, taking a bite of pizza. 

Reki nodded, "Yeah. The guy never returned to S after that." 

"He didn't recover from his injuries?" 

"Well, yeah, of course he did. But his pride was too hurt. He couldn't show his face again. Which, if you ask me, is a little lame." 

Langa grinned, "I knew you were going to say that." 

"Well it is! You can't just challenge someone to a beef and then quit cus they knocked you on your ass." 

Langa didn't disagree, "Well, he should take a page from your book then." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reki asked, thinking Langa was trying to say that Reki failed alot. 

"Well, no matter how many times you fail doing a trick, and someone says that you should just give up. You don't. I like that about you." 

Reki blushed, whenever he didn't feel confident in himself, Langa was there for him to keep him going. It was incredibly reassuring. At this point, he probably couldn't skate without him by his side. Well, he probably could, but it wouldn't be enjoyable anymore. No, Langa added something to he experience. He made something that Reki already love full heartedly even better. And that was just plain amazing. 

They continued to talk about whatever subjects came to mind until the pizza was gone and their soda cans were empty. 

"Aw man." Reki said, looking out the window, "It's super late now. Guess we can't go to the skate park." 

"Why can't we?" Langa chimed in. 

"Huh? The amusement park is closed." 

"Well yeah, the rides and stuff. But the skatepark isn't really actually part of the theme park itself, it just happens to be so close by patrons of the park use it when they come here." Langa explained. He hoped that was right, it's what the website said. 

"But you have to pass through the amusement park to get there. And it's closed." Reki pointed out. 

"We'll just hop the fence then." 

"I-" Reki was taken aback, "Do you realize what you just said?" 

"Yeah." Langa deadpanned, "Why?" 

"That's totally illegal and we'll go to jail." 

"Not if we don't get caught." Langa said, "Isn't S illegal? You have no problem doing that." 

"Well S is organized, it's alot harder to catch hundreds of people than two teenagers." 

"So you don't want to do it?" 

"No, I'll do it but I'm just saying." 

Langa grinned, "I knew it." 

Without another word said, both boys grabbed their boards and headed out, sneaking down the halls of the hotel. It was pretty late but there was still people about the hotel that they didn't necessarily have to avoid, but they made a game of doing so. 

When they finally got outside, they tried to make up a game plan, "Okay so there's two options." Langa said, "We can run around the block and cut through the neighborhood, it'll be a long walk but we won't have to jump a fence. Or-" 

"The first option sounds just fine. Why did you say fence earlier? I wouldn't have hesitated if you just told me we'd have to walk." 

"Well, there's a catch." 

"That being?" 

"If we go this way we'll have to cross through someone's yard." 

"Oh." 

"Yeah." 

There was a silence. 

"Wanna race?" Reki offered. 

"You're on." 

One more glance was offered to each other before they were on their way, running like their lives depended on it. 

When they finally reached the person's lawn, they stopped. 

"I won!" Reki cheered. 

"Shh." Langa shooshed him, "I know you're excited but we're right outside someone's house." 

Reki slapped his hands over his mouth, "Sorry." 

"It's fine just, shush until we're not you know, standing on someone's lawn. Okay?" 

Reki nodded, sliding his pinched fingers across his lips an then shoving his hand in his pocket, giving Langa a thumbs up afterward. 

Langa just rolled his eyes playfully and motioned for Reki to follow, "Come on you big dork." 

The two ran across the person's yard for what felt like years but thankfully, they got across with no hiccups and finally they arrived at the tiny community park. It was a nice little park. There was a swing set, a slide, other pieces of equipment you'd expect to see at a playground. But that's not what they were there for. 

"Ah there it is." Reki said, running over to the half pipe, "I want to go first. Can I?" 

Langa nodded and took a seat on a nearby bench, "Stage is all yours." He watched fondly as Reki skated, cheering him on when he did particularly impressive tricks. 

When it was finally his turn, he tried to replicate some of the tricks Reki did. He stumbled on afew of them, but he did unsurprisingly well with most. He was getting better and better at skating and it made Reki ecstatic to see. 

Reki sat by and watched until Langa slipped off his board and fell, something which concerned Reki but also made him laugh. He couldn't help it. There was something priceless about Langa's long, awkward limbs flying in the air. 

"Are you okay?" Reki asked, instinctively reaching for the front pocket of his backpack which had a first aid kit in it. 

Langa just gave a thumbs up and eventy he got up, "I just rubbed some skin off my elbow when I broke the fall." 

"Need a bandage?" 

"You have one?" 

"I always have one ready for your danger prone ass when we skate." 

Langa rolled his eyes, "Wow I feel so loved-" It was too late for him to stop himself from saying the 'L word.' He hoped, he really hoped that Reki would take it as a joke. 

Even in the dark, he noticed a soft blush on the boy's cheeks. Was that a good sign? 

"Well, you know I love you, you dingus." 

He knew exactly what that ment. He knew that Reki was only reffering to platonic feelings. But that broke any kind of composure Langa had built up. 

"Reki.." He mumbled, gulping. Was he really about to do this? 

"Hm?" Reki looked at him, "What's with that face? Are you okay?" 

"I um..I want to kiss you." 

Reki's brain refused to process that. 

"What?" 

"I said I want to kiss...you." Langa looked at the ground, "May I kiss you?" 

Reki was completely and utterly taken aback, "You...want to.." He put his hand up to lips, "Kiss me..?" 

Langa nodded, but he quickly took it back, "Im sorry that was completely out of line let's just get back to skati-" 

"Who's out there?" A booming voice said from the darkness, followed by a flashlight. 

"Shit." Reki cursed, springing into action and grabbing his and Langa's boards, as well as Langa's hand, "Let's make a run for it!" 

Langa didn't argue, he just hauled ass. They ran as fast as they could away from the cop who, based on the sound of his heavy footsteps, was in hot persuit. 

Reki was internally cussing for getting caught, but Langa was doing the same for a completely different reason. 

_Langa! You idiot why the hell would you say that?_

He didn't have time to dwell on it, though. The cop was on their tails. 

Langa grabbed his own skateboard from Reki's arm so that he'd have less weight to hold him down and tugged the boy along, picking up his spead to that of his body's limit. 

But he kept going. He was not just about to get himself and Reki arrested two hours away from home. 

Thankfully, hey finally outran the cop, who, they realized, had lost interest in the persuit as soon as they touched foot on the person's lawn. 

Some cop. 

They still didn't stop running until they reached their room. Reki still haden't lost the key. Thank _God_. 

He unlocked the door and ushered Langa inside, and neither took a breath until the door clicked closed. 

Langa lied down on one of the beds, breathing heavily as, dispite being athletic, he had never been _that_ athletic before. 

Reki was in the same boat, except he was collapsed across the foot of the same bed rather than making it over to the other one.

When they both finally calmed down, it didn't last long, as mere seconds after catching their breaths, they began laughing. 

They laughed and laughed until it became physically painful to do so, and even then, they kept laughing. 

"Oh my God what the hell were we thinking?" Reki asked, sitting up and moving his way up to lie down next to Langa, who was too busy laughing to notice. 

When he did, he flinched, his face going red. Reki's face was a soft shade of pink that grew harsher by the minute. His head was rested on his hand and supported by his elbow propped on the pillow, "So." He said, "Still want to kiss me?" 

Why was that even a question when the boy infront of him was so beautiful? His smile toothy and genuine, his hair falling into his face, his lips gleaming in the light. Yeah. Langa wanted to kiss him. It was evident on his face that the answer was yes. 

"It'll be your early birthday present then." Reki said, leaning in and closing the gap between them. 

The kiss was slightly hindered by the awkwardness that came with two teens having their first kiss, but it still made both boys feel like their hearts were going to burst. Both had their fantasies about this moment, but neither knew what it would be like. It surpassed their expectations ten fold. 

And when it finally broke, they took no time at all to lock lips again, and again, and again until they'd run out of breath and the feeling of wanting to sleep finally knocked at their door. 

"To be honest," Reki said, "I don't really know how to send you off to your own bed." 

"Is that you saying you want to snuggle?" 

"Is that you saying you don't?" 

Langa shook his head and pulled Reki into his arms, "Of course not." 

There was a comfortable silence between them until the adrenaline finally wore away and Langa was freaked out by his own actions. 

"Um Reki." He said, "You're...you were okay with kissing me, right?" 

Reki placed his hand on the side of Langa's face, "Langa, I wouldn't have lead you on if I didn't want to kiss you myself." 

"So you-" 

"Yes, Langa, I like you too." 

Langa didn't know what to say to that, but his brain certainly knew to short circuit. 

"Ooh." Reki teased, "I like that reaction." He giggled, "Langa." 

Langa forced himself to look up at Reki, who smiled at him menacingly and fondly--somehow, at he same time, "H-hm?" 

"I like you." 

Langa flinched. 

"Langaaa~" 

Silence. 

"I like yooou~" 

Langa's face went beet red. 

"Langa~ I _like_ like yooou~" 

Langa shoved his face in his hands, "Okay okay I know I know I like you too." 

"Oh? How much?" Reki moved Langa's hands away, "How much do you like me?" 

"...alot." 

Reki giggled, "Good answer." He leaned in an placed a kiss on the bridge of Langa's nose, "And good night." He reached over Langa and turned off the lamp illuminating the room. 

Shortly after, Langa went to get up. 

"Where are you going?" 

"The other bed..my heart can't take this right now." Langa admitted. 

Reki giggled and trew his arms around Langa's waist, "Noo hold me!" 

"Reki I-" 

"Early birthday present?" 

"...okay." Langa lied back down and enveloped Reki in his arms, holding the back of his head in his palm. 

"Wait...isn't your birthday in _August_?" 


	2. reki and langa's very cool vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reki and Langa were now officially boyfriends. Now, what to do with their time together? The same things they did as friends with a fun little label? Most likely. But maybe, they'd have some time alone to do things that most normal friends would not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of early birthday present. The title is a reference to the playlist the boys made in the first part, which there a link to in the first part of the story. Enjoy, dear readers

Early in the morning, there was a knock at the door. Langa was still fast asleep, so a groggy Reki answered it, looking through the peephole first to confirm it wasn't some axe weilding murderer. 

Nope, it was just his mom. 

"Morning Ma." He greeted with a yawn, "Is something wrong?" 

His mother smiled and patted his head, tamping down his unruly bed head, "No, I was just gonna tell you guys that the girls and I are going down to the park early." 

"Oh. Um, what time is it anyway?" 

"It's 11:30." 

Reki's eyes widened, "What?" 

"Yeah. You boys must have had one crazy night to sleep in so long." 

The events of he previous night flashed by in Reki's head, making a soft blush creep across his cheeks, "Y-yeah. We were up watching movies and playing truth or dare and stuff." He lied. 

Actually, they snuck on private property, got chased by a cop, and made out. But would you want to tell _your_ mom that? 

No, you wouldn't. 

Reki's mother looked over her son's shoulder to see Langa sleeping peacefully, holding a pillow that he had replaced Reki with as a cuddle partner. 

Noticing the untouched state of the other bed, she smiled knowingly, "Well, dear, if I would have known you boys would get all cuddly I would have gotten you a one bed room and saved the money." 

Reki froze, his face going cherry red, "I- you we- we were-" 

"It's okay, hun. I don't judge." She leaned in and whispered, "As long as you kept it, at most, pg-13." 

Reki's face somehow got even redder, "We did! We just slept in the same bed, nothing more!" 

"Right." Reki's mother giggled, "And I'm in my early twenties." She commented sarcastically, ruffling her son's hair once again, "Tame that mane of hair you've got going on there--oh that rhymed, and wake Langa up. You boys don't want to waste your time here, do you?" 

"No.." Reki closed the door after his mom left, "No we don't." 

Reki stood there for a moment, processing what the hell just went down. Well, atleast they wouldn't have to awkwardly try and find a way to break it to his mom that they were dating now. 

Wait. 

Were they dating now? That was the natural progression of what was supposed to happen when you got together, right? Well, if you consider making out and then getting in a relationship a normal sequence of events, then, yeah. 

Reki would have to ask if that was what Langa wanted later. 

For now, he had to try and wake the boy up. And having had Langa over at his house for sleepovers before, be knew that wasn't an easy feat. 

Reki crawled back in bed next to Langa and took a moment to admire the boys sleeping face--he had spent most the night having his own face planted in Langa's chest so he didn't really get to see Langa's. 

After being sufficiently full in eye candy, he placed a warm hand on Langa's shoulder and gently shook him, "Langa." He said, "Langa wake up." 

Langa didn't buge, his sleeping face undisturbed. 

Reki sighed dramatically and tried again, shaking Langa a little harder this time. 

Again, no dice. 

Pouting, he tried to think of what to do, still shaking Langa in a half hearted futile attempt to wake him, "Lannnggaaa!" He whined, drawing a blank for any other ideas to wake him up aside from straight up shoving him off the bed. That would come soon if Langa still remained persistently asleep. 

Eventually, Langa's eyes fluttered open and Reki breathed a sigh of relief. When Langa's eyes fell on Reki, the redhead smiled and leaned over to kiss the bridge of Langa's nose, "Morning sleeping beauty." 

A blush spred across Langa's cheeks. It was too early for Reki to be stopping his heart. Wait. What time _was_ it? 

"Mm.." Langa mumbled sleepily, fighting to keep his eyes open, "What time is it?" 

"Hm.." Reki made a rough estimate of how much time had passed since his mother told him the time, "Like, 11:45." 

Langa sat up, his eyes fully open now, "Oh my God I slept in so late I'm sorry." He profusely apologized. 

"It's okay." Reki said, laughing at Langa's reaction, "I just woke up too." 

"Oh." Langa sat back against the headboard. 

Reki's laugh increased. It was way too cute how easily that calmed Langa down. He snaked his arms around Langa's waist and pulled him into a tight hug, Langa happy to hug him back. 

"I'm gonna hug you for a couple minutes but then we should haul ass down to the park." 

Langa smiled, liking the sound of that, "Okay." He scooted down a little so that his and Reki's faces were a little closer. He wanted to kiss him but he decided against it, knowing it would end up eating through their time as both they both, in their hormonal, teenage minds, wanted every kiss to last longer than the other. 

When Reki had his fill of hugging Langa, he let go and hopped off the bed, "Alright let's get going." Langa followed in suit, grabbing his phone off the nightstand and checking if he had any messages or missed calls from his mom as he walked over to his bag and pulled out his clothes. He had one text from earlier that morning that simply asked him to call her. 

Not wanting his mother to worry, Langa called her immediately. After afew rings she picked up, "Hi sweetheart." 

"Hi Mom. What's up?" 

"Oh nothing. I just wanted to check on you. Are you having fun?" 

Langa looked over at Reki, who was currently struggling to unzip his bag as the zipper had gotten caught on a shirt that he had haphazardly thrown in there. Langa smiled. Yeah. He was having fun. 

"Mhm. Reki and I were actutally just about to head down to the park area now." 

"Oh. Alright I'll let you go then. Make sure to eat something remotely healthy today." 

Langa almost laughed. How on earth would he get healthy food at an amusement park? 

"Okay, I will." 

"Thanks. Love you, hun." 

"Love you mom. See you later." 

"Bye, dear." 

She hung up, letting Langa get back to getting ready. But first, he walked over to Reki, who was still struggling with the zipper to his bag, "Stupid..ugh-" He gave it another tug, "Zipper!" 

"Woah woah calm down tiger." Langa said, placing his hands over Reki's, "You're gonna rip whatever it's caught on." 

"Then what do you suppose I do? There's no other way!" Reki stated dramatically. 

Langa, deadpanning as usual, kept eye contact with Reki as he reached a slender finger through the little unzipped part Reki had worked open. He found the back of the zipper, and pushed the little bit of shirt fabric away from it and freeing it, "That easy." 

Reki gasped, "You're a genius!" 

Langa smiled. That word was certainly subjective. He'd take the complement though. 

"Yeah, I know." He unzipped the bag, "Now go get ready." 

~ 

Showered, teeth brushed, clothes changed, and hands grasped together, the boys left the room and made their way out of the hotel and down the short sidewalk to the amusement park. 

After scanning their wristbands and being granted entrance, the two conspired a game plan. What rides to do on first, which games to play that won't jip them, and most importantly, where to stuff their faces with artery clogging tourist trap food. 

"How about we go on a small ride and then a big or medium sized one and go back and forth between big and small?" Reki offered. 

Langa just nodded, "Sounds good to me." 

"Great!" Reki said, squeezing Langa's hand with excitement, "Let's go on that one first!" He said, pointing to a small ride. Langa planned on just letting Reki lead the way so he once again just nodded and was promptly dragged over to the ride. 

~ 

Once they had exhausted their supply of rides, there was one left. The biggest one in the park. The Heart Dropper. (Yes, someone made the decision to call it that and thought it was a good one.) 

Dispite both being fearless, reckless, kind of stupid teenagers, they were a little intimidated by its size. Not to mention, it supposedly went upside-down. Reki was less worried than Langa, he had a really good understanding of engineering and mechanics and knew the ride was designed in a way to only give the illusion of being dangerous. But Langa wasn't as technically inclined. As he and Reki got in line, he felt himself getting cold feet. 

Reki thought Langa's nervous expression was adorable given the same boy had skated with absolutely no concern for his safety just months before against Shadow.   
In fact, the rollercoaster was small peanuts compared to that. But Reki wouldn't call the boy out. Who was he to ruin the fun of seeing Langa scream like a little girl? He simply couldn't rob (himself) the world of that treasure. 

He patted Langa on the back, "It'll be okay, Langa." He reassured, "These things only look scary and dangerous, but they're technically sound. The only thing that could go wrong is human error. Like if the ride operator accidentally pressed the stop button right as we were coming down one of the larger hills, it'd definitely give you whiplash if you didn't keep your head against the seat. And..." He trailed off, having caught a glimpse of Langa's horrified face as an indication that he was absolutely not helping, "And I will stop talking now." 

Reki almost felt bad freaking out Langa so bad because there was no way Langa could hide how scared he was when he was clutching the fabric of Reki's shirt like his life depended on it. 

Now was not the time to gush over the moe gap, though, as they were next in line, "Please remove any jewelry, hats or eyeglasses. And if you're wearing loose shoes or sandles, please remove them as well." The operator looked at Reki, "You'll definitely want to take that headband off, son." 

Reki nodded, he had been told that multiple times today. He took the headband off and handed it to Langa. He wasn't about to put it with everyone else's things and have it be stolen. He would have put it in his pocket if the ride didn't go upside-down, "Could you wrap this around your wrist? Your wrist is a little wider so it won't have to be wrapped around as many times and get all streched out." 

Langa accepted the headband and wrapped it around his wrist securely. He was honored to be responsible for something Reki cared about so much. 

When they were ready, they took their seats. Thankfully, the front of the ride had two available seats so they could sit next to each other. 

They strapped themselves in, Langa taking extra care to make sure he and Reki were secure. As they waited for the operator to come by and lock in everyone's restraints, Reki slipped his hand back in Langa's, "You'll be okay, Langa." He reassured, "It's not as dangerous as it seems, I promise." 

Langa gave him a nervous smile and mouthed a thank you. He did not trust his voice at the moment, he knew it would be shaky. 

The operator came by, locked in their seats, and walked off, "Everyone ready?" He asked, his key to turning on the ride suspended right above the slot. 

"Yeah!" The most entusiastic of the bunch strapped into the ride shouted. Others, like Langa, just giving a thumbs up or a nod. 

"Alright, see you on your way back down!" The operator said, shoving the key in the hole and turning it. A beeping sound went off and after three beeps, he slapped his hand down on a button and the ride began. 

As soon as they started moving, Reki felt Langa squeeze his hand. He wished he had enough mobility to lean over and kiss Langa's nuckles, but he didn't. He would owe him a kiss later. 

This was the point where the author would try his best to describe being on a rollercoaster, dispite having not been on one in upwards of three years. 

As the cart slowly inched up the first hill, the anticipation was absolutely killing Langa. If he was gonna get his neck snapped, he'd prefer if it would just get over with. 

When the cart gained speed, he quickly regretted thinking that. And when it finally reached it's first peak, he _really_ regretted it. 

"Oh shit." He whispered under his breath as he felt the cart slowly lurch forward. 

He squeezed his chest restraint tightly, doing the same to Reki's poor hand. Reki was too excited to notice Langa's nails digging into his skin, though, staring down at the ground below him. Oh yeah. This was gonna be great. 

Langa couldn't share the same sentiment. 

When the cart finally descended at breakneck speed down the track, Langa felt his heart drop into his stomach. The ride's namesake made sense now. He wanted to scream but he couldn't even bring himself to open his mouth. 

Meanwhile, Reki was screaming his head off--but the fun kind. It was absolutely exhilarating! The way the ride jerked around and would slowly drop speed at the top of peaks only to accelerate again. Reki was throughly convinced the ride's designers were the Gods of fun. 

When the ride finally ended and they came back to the stretch of track they started on, Langa couldn't wait to get off. And when the chest restraints released, that's exactly what he did. 

He marched off the platform, Reki following, giggling like a giddy school girl. He caught up with Langa and linked arms with him, "That was awesome!" 

Langa didn't respond, simply giving Reki a weakened smile. He probably didn't need to go on another rollercoaster ride for a while after that one. 

"Wanna play some games or eat first?" 

"My stomach kind of hurts after that so let's get food a little later." Langa said. 

Reki nodded in understanding, "Alrighty." He pulled Langa along to a row of games, "Okay so, which of these do you think isn't going to be a money hole?" 

Langa shrugged, "Definitely not the ring toss." Anyone could understand that ring toss was pure, rigged evil. 

"Agreed." Reki said, looking around, "Ooh! How about the dart throwing one?" 

"Want to see who can pop more balloons?" Langa offered. 

"You know I do." 

They walked over to the game and slapped down a five for the both of them to get ten darts, "Five balloons popped and you win a big prize, two and you get a small." The carnie grinned, "Good luck, boys." 

Langa got instant vibes that the ride was rigged, but he didn't want to ruin the fun. Not to mention, there was a no refund policy. 

Reki threw the first dart, it just barely missing a balloon, "Damnit." He mumbled, turning to Langa, "Your turn." 

Langa took a second to pick out a balloon that would be an easy target. When he found it, he angled the shot and popped the balloon, smiling in surprise because, well, he wasn't expecting to. 

"What? Dude that's awesome you're like...a ninja!" 

Langa cracked up, "I'm pretty sure Ninjas need to be able to do more than throw shuriken." 

"Well, it's a start." 

Langa laughed, "Definitely." He handed Reki one of the darts, "Your turn." 

Reki, now determined to beat Langa, focused very carefully on the balloon closest to him, figuring it'd be an easy shot. It wasn't. The dart hit the balloon at an angle that just made it pathetically bounce off, the comical boing sound that resonated adding insult to injury. 

Langa held in a laugh when Reki's face fell, "Damnit!" He complained, "I had that shit lined up." Okay, now Langa had to laugh. He thought it was hilarious how quickly Reki's filter fizzled away when he was angry. 

Reki shot Langa a glare, "Yeah, laugh it up you...jerky jerk head!" 

"Oh. Were getting creative aren't we?" Langa teased. He could be a little weasel when he wanted to be. 

"Just throw your dart." 

"Can do." Langa said, turning his attention back to the board of balloons. He tossed his dart carefully after lining up the shot. A balloon popping soon after. 

"Bullshit." Reki turned to Langa, "Stop being better at everything than me you're gonna give me a complex." He half joked. 

Langa rolled his eyes playfully and handed Reki another dart. 

~ 

"I can't believe I didn't hit a single damn balloon! Reki complained, "I swear that carnie had it out for me." 

"You can have the spoils of my victory if you'd like." Langa jokingly offered, holding out the comically poorly made stuffed animal he had won. 

"Don't mock me, I'm angry!" Reki pouted. 

Langa bit his lip to repress a laugh, "Sorry." He said in english like a stereotypical Canadian. 

"I don't know what that means you jeeerkk!" Reki whined, shaking Langa's shoulder. 

"And that's why you should pay attention to your english lessons." 

"Hush before you hurt my feelings." Reki said, half joking. 

Langa rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Reki's shoulder, "You know I'm right." 

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't mean I have to _like it_." 

Their 'argument' was cut short by Langa's stomach rumbling, Reki's doing the same almost immediately after, "Oh right. We haven't eaten yet today." 

"What should we go get?" Langa asked, pulling out his wallet. Reki getly slapped his hand down, getting a confused look from Langa. 

"I'm not letting you pay for anything." Reki said sternly, "It's my job as your boyfriend to spoil you for your birthday." 

Langa couldn't help but smile at the word boyfriend. It was the first time since they confessed to each other that they really made it clear that that's what they were now, boyfriends. But still, he couldn't let Reki spend all of his money in him. 

"No can do, Reki." Langa said, "I'm atleast paying for drinks." 

Reki whined, "Langaaa!" He grabbed the front of Langa's shirt and tugged back and forth on it, "Let me spoil you!" 

"Will you let me spoil you on your birthday?" 

"...yes." Reki lied. 

"Will you?" 

Reki was quiet, "...Fine, you can pay for drinks." 

Langa smiled, following Reki as he walked up to a hotdog stand. Of course, he was still going to spoil Reki when his birthday came around. 

~ 

After they ate, they'd had enough of the park and decided to go back to their room, change, and go back to the water park to swim in the wave pool and most likely try out slides they particularly enjoyed yesterday again. 

When they got back to their room, Reki lied down on the unmade bed they slept in last night, calling Langa over, "Come hold me for afew minutes." He demanded. 

Langa set the stuffed animal he won on the table and crawled in bed next to Reki. Figuring they might as well wait afew minutes to swim after eating. 

He pulled Reki into his arms, the aforementioned boy curling into a ball in his hold and smiling, "Heh..you're warm." 

Langa smiled and planted his face in Reki's fluffy hair. Oh! Speaking of his hair, "I still have your headband!" Langa said, sitting up and pulling it off his arm, "I'm so sorry I forgot." 

Reki felt his forehead, indeed, it had not been there the entire time like he thought. He laughed at himself. How the hell did he not realize he wasn't wearing it? 

"Thanks babe." He said, taking the headband and going to put it on, but Langa stopped him.

"Um..can I put it on you?" 

"Hm?" Reki wasn't really sure why Langa would want to do that, be he didn't judge, "Sure." He handed Langa the headband and turned up his head so that it was easier for Langa to put it on him. 

Langa took the headband, blushing softly. It was a simple action, but something about it just felt so _boyfriend-y_. He smoothed back Reki's bangs and carefully slid the headband on his head, dropping his bangs and letting his hair fall over the band in its usual fashion. For extra measure, he tugged at the edges close to Reki's ears and pulled them down slightly to secure them. 

Meanwhile, Reki stared at his concentrated face. It was such a nice expression. Such a pensive and focused look for such a simple task. It was _so_ Langa. 

"Hey Langa." 

"Hm?" 

"Kiss me." 

Langa looked at him, his face getting red, "Wh-why?" 

"Because you're pretty...and I want to kiss you." 

Reki's straightforwardness made Langa even more flustered, "..alright." He closed his eyes and leaned in, gently pecking Reki's lips, pulling away afterward, but Reki grabbed his shoulders and reacquainted their lips, kissing him deeply. Reki giggled into the kiss as he felt himself falling backwards. He placed his hands on the sides of Langa's face and kissed him harder, something that made Langa go light headed. He wasn't expecting this development, but it wasn't unwelcomed. 

Reki nibbled at Langa's bottom lip and tangled his hands in Langa's hair. Oh no. He was getting really into this. 

Meanwhile, Langa was focusing on not losing his mind. The way Reki giggled and nibbled at his lips, the way his breathing hitched softly when Langa stuck his tongue in his mouth. It was too much for Langa to handle. 

The occasional awkward happening didn't even bother them. When their teeth would clink together, and Reki would unintentionally bite down on Langa's lips too hard, it didn't matter. They knew that the more and more they kissed that those little awkward happenings would cease. But right now, there was charm in their messy little make out session. Not knowing what to do with their arms, not knowing how far was too far when it came to touching each other's bodies--which both had almost avoided all together anyways. There was something loveable about them not having things like that sorted out yet, because it ment that they would figure it out together. 

Speaking of touching, Langa broke away from Reki's lips to ask a question that just about gave Reki chills, "Can I um...touch you?" 

Reki, currently verbally keyboard smashing, lit up with an intense blush, "I don't know if...touching...wow that's...that might be too sudden..what uh..where did you...where did you mean exactly?" 

Langa realized the way he phrased his words could have been taken as..way more than he ment. And that was not very PG-13. His face went just as red as Reki's, "I ment your torso!" He elaborated, "No where lower than your belly button I promise that's all I meant! Gosh I'm sorry I should have worded that differently." He hid his face in his hands, "I'm sorry just forget I said anything." 

There was a silence for what felt like hours. Langa was stewing in self hatred for his own stupidity. Why did he have to say that? 

Just as he was about to get off of Reki, the red head began laughing, "Oh my God you dork." He reached for Langa's hands and placed them in his waist, "Of course you can touch my torso. I was just about to ask if I could put my hand on your chest." 

Langa stared down at his hands, seeing them on Reki's skin, it made his entire body feel warm and fuzzy. The warmth of Reki's skin, the way he squirmed just slightly under Langa's touch. Langa would never be the same again. It was a religious experience, honestly. Langa silently thanked whatever god that was up in heaven for letting him be this happy. 

Reki couldn't take it anymore. He grew more impatient every second Langa's lips weren't devouring his, "Langa~" he said, his voice sensual in tone, "Please kiss me." 

He didn't have to ask Langa twice. By the time the words had left his tongue Langa had already began kissing him. 

They made out for a good five minutes, Langa's hands traveling across Reki's torso and chest which led him to finding out that the red head had a particularly sensitive chest. Yes, Reki's shirt had come off at some point and Langa's was about to meet the same fate. 

Reki was a mess underneath his touch. Having never experienced anything quite like large, cold but pleasent hands exploring the top half of his body was just- well he simply didn't have the words to describe how it made him feel. 

Langa was aware of this fact by the sounds Reki made. How when Langa's hands found themselves back on his chest his breathing would hitch, and he'd hold the hitched breath in, anticipating to be touched more. But Langa was a tease. He didn't even touch Reki's nipples...not that he wanted him to..that would be...ridiculous. 

Langa knew what he was doing. He purposely avoided that extra sensitive parts of Reki's chest to see if Reki would ask him to touch them. You can't blame a boy for wanting to tease just a little. 

Before he could, though, they heard a knock at the door. They couldn't think of it being anyone but Reki's mom. Shit. They had to hurry. 

Reki scrambled to grab his shirt and slid it on, "Is my hair super messy?" He asked, tamping it down with his hands. 

"Not anymore messy than usual." Langa deadpanned, reaching for the brush he packed and combing through his hair. 

Reki gasped dramatically, "Mean!" 

There was another knock and Reki rushed to the door. He knew it. His mother stood in the doorway, "Hi baby." She greeted, instantly taking notice to Reki's messy hair and flushed face, "Why'd you take so long to get the door?" She asked knowingly. 

Reki scrambled for an answer, "I was uh..getting ready to go down to the waterpark." 

"Oh? Then why are you still in your casual clothes?" 

Busted. 

Reki sighed, "Langa and I-" 

"That's alright." Reki's mother said, shushing him, "I don't need the details." It was probably for the best. 

"So what brings you here?" Reki asked, trying to change the subject. 

"I just wanted to make sure you boys had lunch." 

"We did." 

"Good. You said you were going to the waterpark? Just to let you know, the surfing simulator is closed today." 

"Ah that sucks." 

Langa, overhearing, smiled. This was great. He wouldn't have to worry about the lifeguard flirting with _his_ boyfriend. 

~ 

Langa was wrong. 

"Hi there." The lifeguard, who was now in non-work clothes greeted Reki, "Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if maybe I could get your number? Or maybe your instagram handle." He asked. Credit where credit was due, he was polite. 

Langa was about to step in, but Reki spoke first, "Oh? Without learning my name first? Do you take me for someone easy?" 

The lifeguard blushed, "I'm sorry!" He cleared his throat, "Allow me to start over. I'm Kaito. What's your name?" 

"Reki." Reki introduced himself, "Nice to meet you Kaito." 

Langa frowned. He didn't like this at all. 

"Reki," Kaito cleared his throat again, "Would you um..like to go down the dual-innertube slide with me?" 

"Oh so now we're graduating on from numbers to hanging out?" Reki smiled, "You've got moxie, Kaito." 

Langa wanted to take Reki's hand and drag him away, but he also didn't want to cross any boundaries. Reki was his own person. He would probably lose his shit if Reki actually gave this guy his number, though. That was for sure. 

"What do you think, babe?" Reki asked, turning to Langa, who froze. Babe? It wasn't the first time Reki called him that, but now he called him that _in front of someone._

"I u-um..." Langa stuttered, his face reddening. 

_Babe. I like the sound of that._

"Well." Reki said, turning back to Kaito, "Sorry, but my boyfriend doesn't like the idea of me hanging out with another guy." 

"Oh." Kaito said, "Uh." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "That's alright. I'll be off then." He walked away, his pride a little hurt. 

Reki was going to take up Kaito's offer to see how Langa would react, but he didn't want to make Langa upset for a silly joke. And he had no reason to do something so petty, Langa had been an absolute saint of a boyfriend to him so far. 

Reki turned to Langa, who breathed a sigh of relief, "Just about had a heart attack, huh?" 

Langa nodded. Reki giggled, pulling his boyfriend into a hug, "Don't worry, babe. I like you way too much to just give out my number to just anyone." 

That was a relif to hear. 

Reki was so loveable, so adorable. It was hard to imagine that he didn't get many guys and girls coming up to him and asking him for his number. 

Langa was the lucky one that won his heart. And he was incredibly greatful for that. He wondered, what did he do to deserve someone so lovely? 

~ 

When the waterpark closed, Langa and Reki headed back up to their room, their hands comfortably grasped together. After the Kaito hiccup, things had only went up from there. They went to the wave pool, where Langa let Reki up on his shoulders. Needless to say, it wasn't a great idea, a huge wave slapping Reki off of Langa and just about drowning the other boy. It was so funny to Reki that Langa had to carry him out of the pool because he was laughing so hard he couldn't manage to walk the three feet over to a bench. 

After that, they walked around hand in hand, getting on afew slides that they had found the day before to be the most fun. 

Back in their room, they both took turns taking showers and changing into causal clothes, they planned to go to the part of the park that was only open at night. It was a special section of rides that lit up with bright, blinking lights. Most special of all, there was a ferris wheel, and the two knew that the hopeless romantic in the both of them would be weak to the charm of such a setting. 

As Langa dried his hair, he got a call from his mom, "Hello?" 

"Hi Langa. How are things?" 

"Everything's great." Langa said, a smile evident by his tone of voice, "Reki and I are about to head back down to the park." 

"Oh, well I'm glad to hear you're having a good time. I've just been listening to boring meetings all day." She laughed, "I need a break. We should have a family vacation too, soon." 

"Yeah.." Langa looked back at Reki who was currently brushing his damp hair. Langa smiled, "Hey mom." 

"Huh? What's up sweetheart?" 

"I've gotta tell you something important when I get home." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thing I thought of that I have to share:
> 
> Langa wants to give the prize he won to Reki. Reki doesn't want it, just seeing the thing hurting his pride. As a joke, Langa left the plush on Reki's bed. After that, it was war. The boys would take turns hiding the stuffed animal in each other's rooms like an elf on the shelf.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I'm glad I got this out before Langa's birthday ended. He's honestly becoming one of my favorite characters so I'm glad I didn't miss his birthday. 
> 
> Oh, before you go, the hyperlink in the part of the story mentioning the playlist is a link to the playlist they made, or what I imagine a playlist they'd make would be like. There's a mix of japanese and english songs in it. 
> 
> Enjoy!


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